Two inspired substitutions from Argentina manager Diego Maradona saw his side come back from behind to beat Guus Hiddink’s Russia in a friendly game in Moscow. Maradona without Lionel Messi with a muscle injury, as well as Carlos Tevez amongst others.
Igor Semshov gave Russia an early lead before Sergio Aguero struck a classy 25 yard equaliser for Argentina on the stroke of half-time to go into the break on level terms. In that second half, Lisandro Lopez and Jesus Datolo both scored within seconds of coming on to give Argentina a 3-1 lead. Russian substitute Roman Pavluchenko pulled one back for the home side with 10 minutes remaining, but Argentina held on for a morale boosting victory.
Messi was unavailable as he felt a twinge in his right leg after training on Tuesday and was examined by doctors who found he had pulled a muscle. A statement has since been released on FC Barcelona’s website
“As Argentina coach Diego Maradona announced, Lionel Messi will not play in the match against Russia because of a pulled muscle. The Barca first team doctors have been in touch with the Argentinian medical staff to discuss the injury. We await the arrival of the player on Thursday morning, when further tests will be carried out to discover the seriousness of the injury.”
Reports suggest that Messi is likely to miss both legs of the Supercopa de Espana against Athletic Bilbao but should be fit for Argentina’s World Cup qualifier at home to Brazil on September 5th.
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